While I wouldn’t expect the track to be any more indicative of the overall scope of Universe than “Monte Gargano” was when it came to the expansive sound the band presented on 2009’s Mania, it’s good to hear Truckfighters‘ fuzz once again, and “Prophet” has me anticipating the new album’s arrival even more than I already was. True, it was pretty recently that the riff-rocking trio from Örebro — who one gets the sense are just beginning to make their mark on North American shores — unleashed their EP based around “The Chairman” (video here), but a full-length release is a different beast entirely and I can’t wait to hear the context that surrounds “Prophet” when the time comes. It’s going to be a fuzzy start to the New Year.

Truckfighters – Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm on bass/vocals, Niklas “Dango” Källgren on guitar and Andre “Poncho” Kvarnström on drums — will issue Universe through their ownFuzzorama Records on Feb. 4. They’re taking pre-orders through PledgeMusic now, and one can expect they’ll support the album with a massive run of touring. They’ve been to the US a couple times the last few years (the latest was this summer), and that was before even The Chairmangot released, so that’s an awful lot of work to put in not to return and hopefully reap the reward. Until they make their appearance at SXSW next year, we’re left with drips and drops ahead of the new long-player, and as the first audio from Universe made public, “Prophet” shows some of the moodier side of the band.

Not at all surprisingly, they’ve kept the desert rock tonality that’s made their recorded output so essential, but Mania saw them expand their emotional and atmospheric reach with those tones, and “Prophet” seems to be continuing that progression. See for yourself as they quite literally get screwed in the video below, which was directed by Joerg Steineck (who also helmed the feature-length documentary about the band with Christian Maciejewski), and please enjoy:

TRUCKFIGHTERS to Release New Album “Universe” February 4

Swedish Hard Rock Buzz Band Sets Sights on North American Takeover Including Major Touring, Appearance at SXSW 2014

Scandinavian power trio TRUCKFIGHTERS will release its fourth studio LP Universe in North America on February 4 via Fuzzorama Records. The spectacular Swedish band, who Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme has called “not just the best band I’d ever heard, but the best band that ever existed” and who has created some of the best stoner rock records of the last decade, describes the new album as simply “the ultimate fuzz.” Universe supercharges the riff-heavy roots of TRUCKFIGHTERS’ signature sound while charting a more progressive, challenging path — a hybrid of fuzz and prog — with an increased focus on textures and dense arrangements loaded with engaging melodies and outstanding musicianship. These advancements don’t come at the expense of the catchy and heavier aspects of the group’s sound, rather it shoots TRUCKFIGHTERS psychedelically-tinged rock into rich and rewarding new dimensions. Universe is available for pre-order purchase nowat this location.

With Universe, the ideas TRUCKFIGHTERS have offered since 2001 — a colossal, airtight rhythm section, psychedelically-tinged guitarmonies, teasing maneuvers/crushing payoffs and pure climactic catharsis — are realized with purpose and aim. From the sonic high arc of the opening cut “Mind Control” to the fuzzy riffs, vocal hooks and proggy passages of the leviathan-like “The Chairman” to the monstrous groove of “Convention” and through to the album-closing, tongue-in-cheek nod to buddies Mastodon (“Mastodont”), TRUCKFIGHTERS’ Universe is a definitive mission statement and an accurate portrait of a band that has molded its veracious desert session anthems into chiseled hard rock monoliths.

TRUCKFIGHTERS will tour North America extensively this spring in support of Universe, bringing its explosive energy and contagious enthusiasm to as many cities as possible. The band is also planning an appearance at the 2014 South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival, this coming March in Austin, TX. This, you won’t want to miss.